Mirrored Flashes
by Zurizip
Summary: Drabbles of all shapes, ships, sizes and ratings.
1. One

Challenge Response: First time  
Title: Aftermath  
Rating: K+  
Character: Robin  
Word Count: 145 or so.

A/N Welcome to my little corner of the bandwagon! All drabbles written and cross posted to whr(underscore)drabbles on livejournal. Drabbles have various ratings, check them before you read, please, then we won't have any unpleasant surprises.

There were those that would have been proud of her. Who would have patted her on the back and told that she had done well- one less witch on this earth- as they had done in the past.

She was glad that they were not here now.

There were those that would have chastised her, telling her that it was not necessary, she had acted too quickly, rashly. She should have waited, they had said, but under the circumstances they had not said too much, choosing instead to settle back and scrutinize her; study her with hard eyes that suggested that they no longer trusted her.

She was glad they were not here now, as well.

And then there was the one- ghostly eyes haunting her from the lone candle in her room, screams twisting in the smoke.

Just as they had when she had killed him.


	2. Two

Title: Like a Diamond

Challenge Response: Faith

Word Count: 210

Rating: K+

A/N: So I'm a dork. This incident is mentioned in Silk Gloves (chapter 1), and when the challenge came up, this got written. This is the cut version, original was 320 words, AKA, way too long to be a drabble.

She stood with the rest of the congregation, shuffling down the aisle towards the communion. The tentative grip on her powers made it impossible to drink the wine or eat the bread that held such a grim representation, but to make them happy, she followed other's lead, and lightly brushed the bible.  
Her powers dragged her under instantaneously. The good book held many things; life, love, trust. But most of all, it held faith. Perfect when untouched, but terrible when corrupted. Destroyed easily when hit in just the right spot, hard and unrelenting in others; like a diamond. Imposing, beautiful, terrible, lovely. She had always known that people's faith was nothing to be trifled with, but this blew her away. It was a force unto itself; and in that moment, she realized that even if there wasn't a God in heaven - there was a God on earth. The force of humanity's belief had brought God to existence, and would keep him there until all hope was lost.

Her eyes opened to several people calling her name. There were tears on her face that she didn't remember shedding.

Well, thought Miho Karasuma, sitting in the infirmary a little later, that was one way to get out of mass.

She smiled.


	3. Three

Title: The Unfulfilled Redemption

Challenge Response: Redemption

Rating: T

Word Count: 103

He flicked the lights on, numbly walking into his apartment for the first time in forty-eight hours. Why was he here?

He should have been dead. By all rights and purposes, he should have been buried under unknown tons of limestone.

But he wasn't. He was alive- as were Michael, Yurika, and Miho. They had uncovered the secret of the Orbo, halted the callous treatment of witches.

As he lay down on the couch, staring up at the stark white ceiling, he wondered if, somehow, there had been a redemption of some sort.

He also wondered if he had really fulfilled his part.


	4. Four

Title: Whisper in the Dark

Challenge Response: Pain

Word Count: 98

Rating: M, I repeat, M

Characters: R/A

It was hard, sweet, slow, and oh God, it hurt. Painful, but it was such exquisite pain that all she could do was gasp and utter his name, wanting nothing more than for the pain to continue to mix and blend with pleasure until she wasn't sure whether the two sensations were separate or one.

Tears in her eyes, she kissed him, so he wouldn't see how it hurt; so he wouldn't stop. Pain and pleasure spiraled and spun together, building to something indescribable. In the final moments, his name roiled from the depths of her heart.

"Amon…"


	5. Five

Title: Irony

Non-Challenge

Word Count: 49

Rating: K

The TV crackled on, showing a mob scene in the streets of downtown Washington. A man pushed his way to the camera, shouting and gesturing manically. "And what's next, huh? After gene therapy, what's next? Human clones?"

Robin flicked the TV off, an ironic little smile gracing her lips.


	6. Six

Title: Robin's Dark Side

Rating: T

Word Count: 146

A/N: Starlit Rain at Harry's mentioned this as an idea, and I turned it into a drabble (sorry, don't know her ff.n name…)

At first, she thought they were looking at her. At first she had ignored it.

Then she realized that it was _him_ they were watching with such hungry eyes. The realization did not please her in the least.

She was able to look the other way until, one day, a Romanian woman failed to follow the "look but don't touch" rule.

"My, but I am glad that the Eve has such a strong and brave warden," she had purred, running a finger down Amon's chest. To his credit, Amon had not reacted to the petite blonde's touch.

"Yes," Robin had said simply, taking Amon's arm and non-too-subtly leading him away. "And _I_ am glad that not all women are like you," she had muttered just under her breath once out of earshot.

Amon had chuckled, amused at her protectiveness, and slid an arm around her waist.


	7. Seven

Title: Alternate  
Word Count: 100  
Rating: eh, PG  
Pairing: Sakaki/Karasuma  
A/N: This was the original loff! admittance scene for Silk Gloves. It was scrapped after chapter five or so. Llooking back, I'm really glad I killed it. But it makes a tidy little 100 word drabble!

"I love you Miho. But I'm afraid to fall _in love_ with you."  
"Why?"  
"Because I don't want to break your heart. What if, one day, I wonder about another woman? You'd know as soon as I touched you, as soon as I looked at you."  
"Haruto; I'd never try to bind you like that. No one could be bound so tightly, not without wanting to break their leash." She smiled, "I guess I'm afraid for the same reasons."  
Brushing a strand of hair from her face, he smiled back. "Well, the best remedy for fear is company, I guess."


	8. Eight

Title: Feel for Myself

Rating: M, I repeat, M

Non Challenge

Characters: K/A

Word Count: 220

A/N: Another one of those "Where the hell did that come from?" drabbles. The idea of a K/A pairing fascinates me though…probably more than it should, being an S/K shipper and all…

He knew that he would later reflect that this was a bad idea. She was his co-worker. She was six years his junior. She was a witch.

But she'd made it clear that she didn't want anything more from him than a night. Just enough to make sure that she could still feel, she had said, hand wrapped around a cup of green tea, to remember what it was like to feel for herself, rather then feeling everyone else's emotional scars.

His reasons for accepting were similar to her reasons for offering. It was probably why they got along.

But all pretenses of getting along were smeared away with her hands; stroking him in a way that suggested she was more skilled at this than her hunting persona let on, and his fingers; making her gasp and keen with their ministrations. They did not utter names, instead gritting their teeth and silently screaming with the blinding, all-consuming pleasure.

He had rested for one minute exactly, lying against her, sweat and other fluids making their bodies meld together. And then he had gotten up, dressed, and left. Nothing more.

The next day, there was no awkwardness. He had come in, she looked up and said, "Good Morning, Amon."

He had looked back without a flinch and replied, "Good Morning, Miss Karasuma."


	9. Nine

Title: Avert My Eyes

Challenge Response: Truth

Rating: T

Word Count: 108

Character: Karasuma

"She is a witch," he said, voice smooth as a serpent's, "The order has come, Amon has failed; will you also turn your eyes from the truth?"

She closed her eyes, seeing the sickening glow of the Orbo in her mind, breathing in the recycled air of the factory depths. Truth? Was this, this white walled, computer lined, hell… truth?

There was a faint scraping as Zaizen slid a gun across the table to her, filled with his perverted liquid "truth".

"No," she replied, rasping with the dryness in her throat, "I will not avert my eyes from the truth."

Picking up the gun, she turned from him.


	10. Ten

Title: Loaded Guns

Challenge Response: Loaded Guns

Character: Could be anyone, but I wrote it with Sakaki in mind

Word Count: 86

Rating: eh, K+

The truth of the matter was that they were all witches, politically correct names for it aside. They all had a power, stemming from an effort of will combined with random genetics which allowed them to do things that others simply could not. They were as dangerous as the next witch – only they were controlled. They had the safety on, keeping the trigger from being squeezed, keeping the powder from igniting and setting them aflame.

But it didn't change the fact that they were loaded guns.


	11. Eleven

Title: Bald-faced Lie

Words: 132

Rating: T

Note: Written for … I think it was MsCongeniality for a drabble meme.

They were gone. Somehow, they were gone. Michael rolled out from his tangled state, rubbing the side that had hit the floor. Breathing shallowly, he looked around. Karasuma knelt on the ground, one hand to her shoulder. Robin was no where in sight.

There was a groan, and he shifted. "Sakaki!" The hunter lay on the ground with his hand clenched over his eyes, shuddering. His leg lay at an odd ankle.

"Probably broken," Karasuma said, looking for herself. She took a breath, and winced, her hand tightening visibly on her shoulder, as if she could press the pain away. "Michael, are you all right?"

"I…" he looked around at the ruined office, papers scattered everywhere, Robin gone, Amon who knew where… "I'm fine."

They both knew that it was a lie.


	12. Twelve

Author: Zurizip

Title: Alarm

Non Challenge

Word count: 95

Characters: R and A

Rating: PG

A/N: While staying at my friend's dorm, there were eight fire alarms in one night starting at two in the morning and ending at four. Thus, we have this.

She was thrown out of sleep by the harsh sounds of alarms going off in their small room. Eyes snapping open, she clapped her hands over her ears and cowered in sudden fear. Had SOLOMON found them? But why would they give themselves away with such a loud noise?

There was a hand on her arm, and she looked up to see Amon beside her, face stern.

"Robin," he said, tugging her towards him, "Come on, it's just a fire alarm."

Feeling sheepish, Robin extracted herself from the bed, shuffling after him into the hallway.


	13. Thirteen

Author: Zurizip

Title: Jack's Drug of Choice

Word Count: 99

Character: Amon

Challenge: Addicted

A/N: changed slightly from it's draft on whr drabbles. Thank to Misora for pointing out the slight need for change.

He was not accustomed to relying on something, not used to feeling the lack of something – especially something so material. He was a Jack-of-all-trades: could use a gun as easily as easily as his hands, could gain and keep control of any situation.

And yet, without it, he felt so very _out _of control. It had started with a vial in his pocket, large and cumbersome. Then it became an amulet on his chest, never taken off…sometimes he even slept with it on.

It protected him from others. It protected him from himself. He was …addicted to the Orbo.


	14. Fourteen

Response Challenge: Family

Title: Mother

Words: 145

A/N: First in a series of two loosely connected drabbles

"Mommy?"

A tug on her skirt. She glanced over her shoulder to find a small boy looking up at her plaintively.

"Mommy?"

She leaned down, bringing her face level with his. "I'm sorry," she said gently, "I'm not her."

"Where's mommy?" he said, lower lip trembling, "I lost mommy!"

For a moment, she paused. Then she smiled and held out her hand. "Come on," she said, "I'm sure we can find her if we look."

Scrubbing at his eyes, the little boy nodded.

It was short work to find her, only three aisles over. "Thank you," she said after comforting the boy, "I'm glad he found someone who could handle a child. Do you have kids?"

She ducked her head. "No, I'm only nineteen."

"Well," she said, beaming, "I'm sure you'll make an excellent mother one day,"

Karasuma nodded, trying to hide her blush.


	15. Fifteen

Title: Never a…

Words: 100

Challenge Response: Craft

A/N: Number two. Takes place in ep 8…or nine. The one with the (creepy assed) kid.

_Just a child, _Karasuma thought as the factory pulled away from the scene. She watched the van disappear down the road, reminding herself that the child had been a witch, had purposefully, knowingly killed.

Her heart twisted. She liked children, for the most part. Someone had once told her that she would be a good mother…

Her breath stilled.

She was a craft user – held all of the genes for a witch's power. Any child she bore could – could – turn out like that.

She turned abruptly, blinking rapidly. She would never be a mother. She _could _never be a mother.


	16. Chapter 16

Challenge Response: Temptation  
Word Count: 99  
Character: Doujima  
Rating: K  
Title: No Contest  
A/N: This just came out of no where...but man Doujima is fun to write when I can do it.

God, the day had been boring as all hell. It was too warm inside Raven's flat, and the sun looked to be just right for working on her tan. Doujima held up an arm to the florescent lights of the office, trying to decide whether a tan would work with her current wardrobe.

Oh, definitely.

She glanced out the window again. There was a little park outside her apartment that would be perfect. A tiny bikini, a towel, something to drink…

The elevator was beginning to look more and more tempting.

She grinned. Of course, there was no contest.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Serendipity on Wheels  
Rating: eh, G  
Word count: Ok. It's funky. Each character is fifty words or less. It's sort of a series of extremely linked drabbles. all told - 243 words.  
A/N: Was riding on my bike, and came up with the idea.

Another day, another delivery. Robin sighed, hooking her leg over the bike and smoothly pushing off. She bent over the bars, concentrating on the push of her legs, the sigh of the wheel turning against the ground. Yes, just another day - nothing would change. Not today.

Doujima squinted in the sunlight. She should find some sun glasses to go with this outfit. That could be tomorrow's project. Smiling to herself, she stepped from the curb – only to be nearly run over by a bicyclist clad completely in black.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she cried.

There was nothing as good as a motorcycle for getting around, thought Sakaki, especially after that cast. Admittedly, it wasn't as agile as a bike, he mused, watching a messenger in black weave through traffic – but motorcycles could go _fast._ The light turned green, and he gunned the engine.

Life still didn't feel quite right. Everyone was physically healed from the attack, but Karasuma knew that nothing could erase the abrupt loss of Robin and Amon. Sighing, she let her eyes follow a biker in black, distracted for a moment by the strange familiarity of the figure.

He knew she was in the city. He had been ordered to watch her. So Amon had obtained a list of Nagira's clients, and then sat near the building. Finally, around noon, a messenger in black rode up, pausing for a moment as if sensing his gaze. He smiled. It was her.


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Home  
Character: Karasuma  
Rating: PG  
Word Count: 99

Home. She honestly hadn't thought she'd see it again. So much had happened since she'd stepped out of it just a few short days ago. Her life was in shambles, hidden under tons of concrete. Her job, her friends, her very trust in justice… it was all lying in pieces where she'd finally made her decision. She felt torn, rent in two; the hunter and the woman who knew what justice really was. Everything felt tainted, wrong; she knew she would never be able to wash her hands of the blood.

Home.

She grunted – nothing felt like home anymore.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: Into the Abyss  
Character: Karasuma and Sakaki  
Rating: PG  
Word Count: 100

When he walked up to the rubble of the factory, Sakaki's eyes automatically picked out Doujima and Karasuma's figures; standing in the dust. Doujima was talking on the phone, shifting restlessly from foot to foot. Karasuma stood a little away from her, one arm wrapped around her waist, face reflecting an incredible sadness. As Doujima moved away from her, the craft-user suddenly shifted, and Sakaki could see her take the Orbo amulet from her neck.

For a long time, she simply gazed at it. Then she abruptly turned and walked away, decisively tossing her amulet into the abyss of concrete.


	20. Chapter 20

Title: Somehow Wrong  
Word Count: 102  
Rating: PG  
Character: Karasuma  
A/N: This was Northlight's idea which she suggested in comments on a previous drabble

She had to admit – it was beautiful, shimmering like a liquid emerald in the office light.

"This is only the first iteration, you understand," Zaizen had said, "of course we will purify it so that you need not carry such cumbersome vials."

Karasuma brushed her fingers over the test tube. Something felt _wrong _about it, despite its beauty. For just a moment, she thought she heard screams…but then her craft receded. Well, it was supposed to suppress the craft – it only stood to reason that _her_ craft would react badly.

With only a moment's hesitation, she slipped the tube in her pocket.


	21. Chapter 21

Whee! I am the dissapearing, reappearing Zurizip! Here, have a drabble.

* * *

It was the first time she had asked a favor of them in her year at the STNJ. Zaizen had allowed it, as much a test of loyalty as a favor, she was sure.

But she didn't care, Kami deserved better than to be hunted. And so Karasuma broke a few Orbo bullets, placing the green liquid in her best teapot, then invited her neighbor over.

It was over in minutes. Kami always drank her tea quickly, and she collapsed after the first cup. Soon she was in a factory truck, thrashing like an epileptic in the men's hands. Amon nodded his approval, and she received a congratulatory call from Zaizen.

But none of that stopped her from throwing out the teapot the next morning.


End file.
